Tennessee pastor, son who saved 3 boys among Carnegie Heroes

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Tennessee pastor and his son are among 20 people being honored with medals and cash from the Carnegie Heroes Fund Commission.

Neil Crass and his son, Hunter, helped when three 14-year-old boys broke through ice covering the Emory River in Harriman, Tennessee in February 2014. The elder Crass was 43 at the time; his son was 19.

The boys were clinging to a buoy about 130 feet from shore when the pastor and his son used a 15-foot boat to reach them as a firefighter broke through the ice ahead of them.

The Carnegie Hero awards are named for Pittsburgh steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, who was inspired by stories of heroism during a deadly coal mine disaster.